


Oysters and Absolut

by starredthought



Series: Kingsman One-Shots [1]
Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: A&E, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dialect, Domestic Violence, Eggsy's accent, Harry is a tailor, Implied Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-08
Updated: 2015-06-08
Packaged: 2018-04-03 12:37:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4101193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starredthought/pseuds/starredthought
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a fight with Dean sends him to A&E on his own, Eggsy starts talking to a handsome stranger in the waiting room.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Oysters and Absolut

**Author's Note:**

> AU-We met in the ER because waiting is awful.  
> Mentions of domestic violence

Eggsy and Dean always toed a line. Eggsy had just stepped over it.

He couldn’t even remember what he had exactly done to set him off. He probably said something smart or gave him a too-nasty look, but whatever he did, Michelle hadn’t been around to distract him and now Eggsy was stumbling through the streets to get to the A&E with a hand pressed to his bleeding head. He could still feel tiny splinters of glass in his temple and cheek from the booze bottle Dean had hit him with, but better him than Daisy or Michelle. He could take it.

He walked up to the counter, still holding his head as blood ran down the side of his face. “Hi, yeah…got into a right to-do at the pub. Gary Unwin. March 30, 1992.” He handed the nurse at the desk his ID and waited for her to put in his information. He glanced around the waiting room and groaned a bit to himself. Friday night rush, of course. He slipped the ID back into his wallet and nodded at the nurse, who he swore he’d seen before but he’d probably seen all of them before.

Before he sat down, he went to the bathroom to get some paper towels to clean his face up a bit for the sake of everyone waiting. He dampened the towel and started to dab his face but he flinched as the splinters pressed under his skin. “Jesus…fuck,” he muttered to himself, eventually giving up. The blood was mostly dry anyway, and his hat made a decent compress for his head. The rest of the world would just have to deal with it.

There weren’t many seats open. They were mostly filled with families with children, younger kids like him, or people that just didn’t look quite right. He settled on a seat toward to corner next to a man who wore the most well fitted suit that Eggsy had ever seen. On top of that he looked like the healthiest person in the whole place. He sat down slouched down in his seat with his arms crossed, knowing that he was going to be there for a while, so he might as well stretch his legs a bit.

The man in the bespoke suit turned toward him. “My goodness, have a run in with the wrong side of a bottle of Absolut, did we?”

Eggsy didn’t expect the pain from turning his head, but he flinched. “Yeah…you’re tellin’ me, bruv.” He turned his head back to neutral to alleviate the pain. “Wot you in for anyway? You be lookin’ right as fuckin’ rain.” He tried to look at the man out of his periphery, but resigned to turning his head slowly to really get a look at him because he was well fit for an older bloke.

He pressed his glasses up on his face and turned toward Eggsy. “Brought in a friend of mine. Lunch has been disagreeable with him and I fear he’s dehydrated beyond my scope of practice.”

“Caviar a bit dodgy?” _You fucking serious, mate? Caviar?_ Eggsy instantly regretted his assumption, even under the pretense of being a joke. But the man took it as such with a polite laugh and Eggsy let out the breath he’d been holding.

“Afraid not. I fear it was the oysters he was so intent on ordering.”

“Ah, well there’s your prob’em, mate. Those posh foods’ll never sit right. Never ‘eard of someone gettin’ food poisonin’ from a Nandos.” Eggsy found himself smiling, which also fucking hurt his face, but he didn’t want to show it in front of his attractive stranger with his perfectly coifed hair and his glasses that Eggsy found so attractive in the middle of the A&E. “How long you been waitin’?”

Harry sighed and sat back with his leg crossed over the other. “My friend just went back probably 15 minutes ago,” he stated as he looked at his Rolex. “And before that, I sat here with him for about 2 hours.”

“Christ,” Eggsy breathed. That wasn’t even that bad of a wait in his experience, but the thought of sitting for two hours with microscopic shrapnel in his face was less than desirable. “You didn’t go back wid ‘im?”

“Oh goodness no. He fought me with all of his might to keep me out. I thought I owed him that much after he lost a large percentage of his body fluid.” Eggsy nodded and sat up straighter to talk.

“So this _friend._ Is he like…boyfriend? Or just a mate?” _Fucking hell did Dean bruise my ‘shut up’ center of the brain or what?_

Luckily, Harry did not seem phased by Eggsy’s lack of social norms. “He is just a long time mate of mine. We met at university. Oxford back in the 1980s. You weren’t even born yet, I’m sure.”

“Nah, 1992.”

“Are you in school?” Eggsy swallowed harshly. “I apologize if this is an uncomfortable subject.”

“Nah mate. I ain’t in school. Mostly take care of my mum and my baby sis. Step dad ain’t really father of the year. But I don’t work eiver, so fat amount of good I’m doin’.”

He felt the guilt weigh down on him in that moment. While he was here, Dean could be beating on his mum that just got home with Daisy after staying at her mum’s for a couple days. Or they could be drinking until they forgot Daisy existed and she would go hungry until long after they sobered up or Eggsy got home to feed her. “Oh, Christ.” He buried his head in his hands between his knees. “I can’t fuckin’ be here.” He felt himself start to get panicky with an accelerated heart rate. “I can’t fuckin’ BE here.”

He felt a hand on his shoulder that held him in his seat when he desperately wanted to run out. It grounded him and forced him to control his breathing. He could feel everyone in the waiting room staring at him as he held his head. The panic made his injury throb, but he also felt the hand never leave his shoulder. Normally, he would have flinched. Years of being beaten by Dean made him fear the physical, but this felt better than that. This felt reassuring, not demeaning. Eggsy breathed in through the nose and out through the mouth until he felt that he was in control again. He sat up straight and let out a harsh sigh. “Sorry for that, mate.”

“I fear I’ve uncovered something unsavory, and that is no reason to apologize.”

Eggsy opened his mouth, about to let the words just fall out when the nurse called out, “Gary Unwin?” by some miracle. Eggsy stood up and looked back at the man next to him.

“Look, I really hate to ask this, I really do, but would you mind comin’ back and keepin’ me company? I might batter up a doc.” The man looked up at him through his glasses and nodded just enough for Eggsy to see. He stood and buttoned his suit jacket, grabbed his umbrella, and started walking back. The unlikely duo followed the nurse passed rows of beds until they found an empty.

“State your name and date of birth please,” the nurse asked as Eggsy got up on the mattress. He recited for her and she slipped an identification band on his arm before he started taking his vital signs. She asked her how this happened and he gave the same story as to the nurse in the waiting room. The stranger sat down in the corner and crossed his legs again, never quite taking his eyes off the nurse and the boy. “Doctor will be in shortly.” Eggsy knew that had to mean at least thirty minutes, but he might get lucky like in the waiting room. He looked toward the man.

“Gary then?”

“Nah, I go by Eggsy.” The man gave him a little smile like he’d said any normal name like ‘John’ or ‘James’. He stretched out his right hand and Eggsy shook it firmly.

“My name is Harry. Pleased to meet you, Eggsy.” The boy leaned back in the bed and looked toward Harry, who’d conveniently sat on his more comfortable side.

“So what do you do, Harry? Fer a livin’?”

“I am a tailor by trade, for the Kingsman shop on Savile Row.” Eggsy nodded as if in understanding, but he never really went to that side of town. That was the kind of place where people gave him cautious looks as he walked by like he was going to nick something. To be far, he probably would have.

“Certainly posh enough for it. ‘Splains the suit. Never had one meself.”

“And you’re twenty three? A young man must always have a suit.” He sounded almost offended but Eggsy just motioned to his attire from his cap to his trainers.

“Mate, are you really surprised? I mean, I’m more of a tracksuit and trainers kind of guy.”

“You should come down to the shop once you’re out of this predicament. I’ll fit you for a suit.” Eggsy’s eyes widened at him. No he had to be joshing.

“You serious?”

“One-hundred percent. I believe that a well fitted suit can unlock an array of avenues in a man’s life, or a woman’s for that matter.” Eggsy relished the idea. If he had a decent set of clothes he could get himself a decent job in a nicer area of town and make some money to help him and his mum get Dean out of the flat. He’d have to find a way to get it into the house without Dean seeing it and taking a chance at ruining it though.

“That’s sick, mate. Ta” The doctor came in and started asking him the same questions the nurse had already asked. Name. Birthday. How it happened. He turned to Harry and asked who he was. Eggsy opened his mouth.

“I’m his employer. Harry Hart.” He shook the doctor’s hand. The doctor left to get the supplies needed to get the glass out of his face and Eggsy turned toward Harry.

“What you on about, bruv?”

“Eggsy, if you so wish, you sound like a fine young man, with a little bit of fine tuning. I believe that you would be a worthy asset to Kingsman. I could train you as my apprentice, teach you how to fit and alter suits, and aid you in helping your mother and your sister.” Eggsy’s mouth dropped open. “But, I need you to tell me how you really got that injury.”

Eggsy swallowed. He couldn’t. Harry was nice and everything but he was still a stranger. He’d already told him enough about his life that he hadn’t really hinted at to anyone else and he didn’t even tell the nurses and the doctor who were bound by a confidentiality agreement that he was actual beat by his stepdad and not by a drunk on a pub crawl. He shook his head sadly. “I can’t do that, Mr. Hart. I’m sorry. If there’s one thing I’m good at, its’ keepin’ my mouth shut.” _Until you came along that is._

The man looked almost disappointed but he nodded in agreement. “Very well. I will leave the offer open, but I still would like you to at least come in for a fitting.” Eggsy nodded and looked away from Harry, uncomfortable now, but not with the man at his side.

The doctor returned with a small basin, a pair of tweezers, and a kit of sterile iodine. Eggsy tensed up and gripped the sides of the mattress in anticipation. “Now Mr. Unwin, I’m going to remove the glass from you cheek.”

“Yeah, al’ight. Let’s just get this done with.” He removed his cap and held it in his lap. There was a good stain of blood on the right side. _Well, can’t wear that again._ He kept his eyes straight ahead as the doctor donned his sterile gloves and opened his kit. Eggsy gritted his teeth when the iodine stung his open wounds and he tried not to look like he was in pain but he was very aware that was not happening.

Harry moved from his seat behind the doctor and stood in front of the boy. Eggsy couldn’t bring himself to look at him, but he could feel Harry’s eyes watching over him as the doctor went over the area with a second iodine swab. He hoped this was the worst part, but when the doctor started digging for shards in his temple and cheek, he white knuckled the mattress and curled his toes in his shoes. With one particular piece that was especially deep, he let out a whine.

“Would you like me to take a break, Mr. Unwin?”

“No, keep going and get it done with.” He worked to keep a stoic face. He’d taken Dean’s shit dozens of times before with a brave face and this couldn’t be any different, but it was. It hurt. Eggsy was on the end of his rope with Dean, his mum, everyone. He just wanted to get out, but instead he was stuck in the A&E getting glass pulled out of his face bit by excruciating bit. One for every beating that he’d endured over the years, removed from him and placed into a basin growing bloodier by the shard.

“Alright, finished. Now I’m noticing some bleeding from you head. I’m going to have to shave your hair to get a better look and possibly give you stitches.”

Eggsy gave the doctor an incredulous look as he pressed a set of gauze to his face to stop the bleeding. “Are you fucking kidding me, bruv? I just got it to grow back from the last time.” He groaned and sighed. “Fine, just do it. I want out of here.” The doctor left for a pair of trimmers and Eggsy finally looked up at Harry again. “Fucking piss. You sure you would want som’on like this workin’ in your shop? A scarred up face and a bald ‘ead?”

“We actually already have the position of bald headed associate filled, but that aside…scars are not signs of weakness, Eggsy. They are proof of strength. In a literal sense it is your body rebuilding itself, making flesh where it was ripped away. This is the same with your life. Whatever track you’re on, Eggsy, you needn’t stay on it. You can rebuilt, create a new life, fill in the gaps you see. Sometimes, you may need stitches, a sort of aide to keep everything together while you work to fix the biggest problems, but in the end, one day you will not _need_ that aide any longer.”

Harry took a few steps closer to Eggsy’s side. “From talking to you this last hour, I see potential in you. You have the goals, to support your family, and the ability to create meaningful relationships. What you need, in my eyes, is some stitches to help you heal completely. I would like you offer you the needle and thread, both metaphorically and literally.” Eggsy opened his mouth to protest. “You do not need to tell me. Your privacy is your privacy.”

The boy sighed and the doctor came back in with an electric razor. He kept his head straight up and looked Harry in the eyes as he turned on the buzzer. “Al’ight. Let’s do this.”

* * *

 

“Dinner smells good.” Eggsy walked around the table and set four places with plates, glasses, and silverware, and then lit a candle sitting in the middle. Harry set down his plate of carved chicken on the table and brushed his hand along Eggsy’s hip as he withdrew.

“I am what they call a ‘jack of all trades,’ Eggsy.” He spoke in low tones into Eggsy’s ear.

“Oh, sod off.” He shoved him playfully back toward the kitchen to get the rest of the food. “Mum, dinner!” he called up the stairs. He picked up Daisy as she walked into the dining area and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Eddy stop dat!” She pushed against his chest but still laughed. He set her in her high chair at the table just as Michelle came down.

“It’s lovely down here, boys.” She always referred to them as boys, despite Harry being older than her.

“Harry did all the cookin’.”

“Yes, but Eggsy put together the place settings. Dinner is about more than just the food.” He set down the last plate and sat down as Eggsy brought out a bottle of champagne that Harry had brought. He popped the cork, which startled Daisy for a moment but Michelle bounced her a bit on her hip while Eggsy filled their flutes.

Once everyone was all settled in, Harry stood and raised his glass. “I’d like to propose a toast. One year ago, Eggsy began working for Kingsman tailoring, and has since flourished. I would say that I am surprised, but I expected nothing less of him. To Eggsy.” Michelle echoed Harry and smiled proudly at her son. Eggsy blushed and ran his fingers through his hair. They tapped their glasses together and all took a drink. Harry sat in his chair and Eggsy reached under the table with his foot. Harry returned the favor while he drank like he wasn’t flirting out of Michelle’s view.

After dinner was cleaned up and the three adults had time to chat, Harry looked at his watch to leave. Eggsy walked with him down the stairs and to the street where he would hail a cab. The man turned to face him and brushed his hand from his cheek dotted with scars down to his shoulder. Eggsy put his hand over Harry’s. “I never would have gotten here without you, Harry.”

“I believe you would have found a way somehow, but I’m glad that your path collided with mine in this way. I am truly proud of you for all that you have managed to accomplish for yourself this past year.”

Eggsy paused and then nodded. “You know wot? Me too.” Harry gave him a pat on the shoulder and then leaned down slightly to kiss him lightly on the temple. Eggsy made a quick glance at the house before he reached up behind Harry’s head and pulled him down into a kiss that he held for a minute and then released. Harry raised his eyebrows and pushed his glasses up on his face, but in the end, seemed content.

“Me too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Ended up being longer than I expected. I hope to write more AUs and drabbles in the future. Comments and kudos are adored!


End file.
